Increasing use of ozone in treatment of water in swimming pools, spas, whirlpool bath facilities, and other applications has lead to a need for greater flexibility and more efficient methods and devices for use and installation of equipment used to inject ozone and other chemicals, such as chlorine, into water or other fluids being treated. This is particularly true for those situations and applications wherein an ozone or chlorine related treatment capability is being added as a retrofit to existing plumbing associated with aforementioned pools, spas, bathing facilities, or other applications.
It has become a relatively common practice to generate chlorine, for use in swimming pools, spas, and other water treatment applications by electrolysis of a solution containing a chlorine salt. In conventional practice, common salt (NaCl) is dissolved in pool or spa water. An electrolysis cell, sometimes called a salt chlorine generator, or simply “salt generator,” is installed in series with a pump and filter in a main line water circulation loop and used to electrolyze pool water to generate free chlorine from the brine solution. The chlorine then reacts with and oxidizes biological and other contaminants in pool water. However, introduction of salt into pool or spa water can lead to more rapid corrosion of hardware and equipment installed in a vicinity of a pool or spa. In addition, byproducts of electrolysis reactions in salt water include formation of sodium hydroxide and other undesirable chemicals. Since, in conventional practice, virtually all byproducts of an electrolysis reaction remain in circulating pool or spa water, it is necessary to neutralize or remove such byproducts to avoid exposing swimmers or bathers to increasing levels of caustic sodium hydroxide or other undesirable chemicals.
It is thus one object of the instant invention to provide apparatus and methods for efficient and adaptable installation into new or existing facilities of a capability for injection of ozone, chlorine, or other chemicals. It is another object of the instant invention to provide novel and unobvious apparatus and methods for generating chlorine and for combining use of chlorine and ozone using novel and unobvious techniques that use separate and combined properties of ozone and chlorine, and associated reaction byproducts, to obtain synergistic benefits relative to treatment and purification of water or other fluids.
Other objects of the invention will become clear upon a reading of the following specification.